The Urban Ecology Liaison and Advisory Group has 10 members from council staff and from Lincoln University’s Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation and its Landscape Architecture and Natural Resources Engineering groups.

Professor Ian Spellerberg, Director of the Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation, says taking care of urban ecological systems has become vital.

“Urban ecology’s not just about the plants and animals in a city,” Professor Spellerberg says. “Rather, it’s about nature’s goods and services which provide fundamental support for human well-being and the human environment.

“Urban ecology is the fundamental basis of a clean, green image.

“With only about 14 per cent of New Zealand’s population living in rural areas today, there is a concentration of human impacts on the ecological systems within our towns and cities.”

In this year’s State of the Nation’s Environment address at Lincoln University, Parliamentary Environment Commissioner Dr Morgan Williams said things New Zealanders needed to begin thinking about in relation to the future of their cities included “education for sustainable living” and the need for “urban research” to underpin planning.

Allan Watson, Policy Leader at Christchurch City Council, says the partnership will help the city achieve its sustainable city outcomes and will help Lincoln University to reach its academic objectives in this field.

“There are benefits in having access to Lincoln University’s resources, and the opportunity to link research and teaching activities with real urban problems encountered in the city,” Mr Watson says.

“Where this link exists, the Council can support the university in its applications for funding from other agencies, provide information and data, identify projects and facilitate fieldwork.”